


Terra Firma

by Yrindor



Category: Original Work
Genre: Aliens, Communication, Gen, Languages and Linguistics, POV Child, Space Swap 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28292778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: The spaceship's planned arrival on the planet Uruk-shan had been known for centuries.  Unfortunately, somewhere during those centuries both the details and language needed to communicate them were lost.  While the ship's captain and senior officers work to solve the problem, one young girl decides she'd rather explore than sit around waiting for the adults to do boring adult things.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Terra Firma

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadaras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadaras/gifts).



> **_Ship's log, cosmic date GE 3610.152, standard hour 7:35:15, recorder Captain Naran Xian_**
> 
> _After nearly five centuries in transit, we are now on our final approach to the planet Uruk-shan, circumbinary silicate planet in the outer reaches of the spiral galaxy IC 2233. We are uncertain what reception we will receive. Our itinerary was communicated to the Salaxa, a sentient, reptilian race of terraformers, upon our departure, and according to past ship's logs, we maintained frequent communication for the first 150 years of our journey. Unfortunately, a solar flare from one of their suns 350 years ago knocked out the communications equipment on Uruk-shan. Readings from an unmanned science vessel indicated that it remained inhabited with minimal change to its atmosphere; however, if outside communication was ever reestablished, we were never informed. We can only hope that the Salaxa have maintained their records as precisely as we have ours, and that our arrival is still welcome_
> 
> _Final preparations for arrival are now underway, including a thorough inspection of the ship's hull and shielding. This ship has not been through atmospheric entry procedures since the week-long stop on Hostera II for scheduled maintenance 75 years ago. Since then, we have been traveling through a largely uninhabited area between galaxies with only the occasional outpost for refueling and repairs. If all goes according to plan, the landing sequence will be initiated in thirty-six hours and forty-five minutes._

The ship shakes. I grab my harness and try not to cry. The babies are crying in the seats next to me, but our Caretaker can't go to them or she'll fall over. The grownups said we would be landing, and it would be exciting. The didn't say it would shake. The ship didn't even shake this much during the meteor storm that ruined my birthday. My stomach hurts.

There was something called a roller coaster in one of the holodecks once. They let us ride it. I didn't like it, but it felt like this. Except that was supposed to be fun. I don't think this is fun. It's too noisy to hear what the grownups are saying, but I don't think they're having fun either. They're all as tense as they were during the meteor storm, but at least this time everyone was sitting down when the shaking started; First Officer Kahn was grumpy for _weeks_ when he broke his leg last time.

A big jolt makes my teeth rattle, but then the shaking stops. The lights flicker the way they do when some other part of the ship needs more power. I look to Caretaker, but she looks confused too. We're all waiting for an announcement. The Captain and Officers are all up on the bridge. It's hard to know what's happening from our deck if they forget to tell us.

The lights come back on. My heart is pounding in my ears. I almost miss the crackle of the speaker because of it.

"This is Captain Xian reporting from the bridge. The approach and landing on Uruk-shan is now complete. The Salaxa appear to have been expecting our arrival. Initial readings from the science crew confirm the atmosphere remains within our requirements; however, standard precaution and decontamination procedures will be maintained until additional readings can be performed. Landing party, report to Level D, Section 7 airlock immediately. Preliminary on-planet science team standby for immediate departure pending signal from landing party. Captain Xian out."

I lean as far forward in my harness as I can to look out into the hallway. We're on Level D, and the Section 7 airlock is at the end of the hall. The high-ranking officers don't come down here much; their quarters are all on Level A so they're closer to the bridge.

I have to clap my hands over my mouth when Captain Xian passes. They are wearing their full dress uniform and putting on an off-ship respirator. The last time I was this close to them was when the Educators took us all the way up to the bridge. Captain Xian wasn't wearing their dress uniform then. They must be doing something really important to wear it off ship where it might get dirty.

First Officer Kahn comes down the hall too. It's easy to tell it's him, just like when he comes down to watch our classes. If I made that much noise when I walked, the Caretakers would tell me to stop stomping.

I don't know the science officer that passes next, but they have to be at least a Lieutenant. No one below that rank gets the star on their sleeve. We learned all of the different ranks on the ship and how to tell them apart in class, but I don't remember all of it. I don't know why they made us memorize all of it; the important people always get introduced first, or they insist on introducing themselves.

No one else comes by in our direction. The rest of the party must have taken a different route to the airlock. Once I stop watching the doorway, I notice that the Caretakers are taking the little ones out of their seats.

I release my own harness. "Are we going somewhere?" I ask. My legs feel weird when I stand on them. They always do after I sit for a long time.

"Maybe. We need to wait for instructions from the captain," Caretaker Ashwan says. "Get your on-planet kit and come right back here. Don't wander off."

"I won't," I promise. I hurry to my room and take the box out from under my bed. Our on-planet things don't need to be as easy to get to as the first-aid kits and emergency suits that we're always supposed to have with us, but we still get in trouble if we leave anything in front of them or move them around. They make us practice getting our boxes and putting on the things inside them every few months in classes, but I've never used them for real. None of the older kids have either. I even heard some of the Caretakers talking once, and they said _they_ had never been to a real planet either.

I put on the mask and tighten the straps around my head. It feels funny and makes it hard to breathe, but it's lighter than the emergency masks we're supposed to use if there's a problem with the airlocks. Those masks make air for us; this one just takes the bad things like germs out of the air before we breathe it.

Next, I put on my goggles. I don't need them on the ship, but I'm supposed to wear them off of the ship so the sun doesn't hurt my eyes. I'm already wearing my special suit. It's tight and covers my whole body; they made us put them on this morning.

I take the belt that will hold my communicator and emergency signal and buckle it around my waist. I even remember to fasten the special tabs on my suit to it. I hope the Caretakers are pleased I remembered how to put everything on by myself, especially Caretaker Kirstin; she helped me last time when I forgot how to adjust my mask.

I hurry back down the hall to where the Caretakers have assembled all of us into a group. I wait for instructions, but even the Caretakers still seem to be waiting. I hope something happens soon. I've never been good at waiting.

> **_Ship's log, supplemental, cosmic date GE 3610.154, standard hour 5:25:17, relative hour currently unknown, recorder Captain Naran Xian_**
> 
> _Unexpected difficulties encountered in initial contact with the Salaxa. Despite the centuries without communication, knowledge of our arrival appears to have been maintained as they were waiting for us upon our arrival; however, we suspect there is a misunderstanding among them of the nature of the landing and of our crew. Confirmation of such is currently not possible as linguistic drift has rendered our universal translator largely inoperable, even after declaring the input as standard Salaxian._
> 
> _I have returned to the ship to request the addition of our most qualified Recorders and linguistic scholars to the on-planet team. As the gathered Salaxans do not appear hostile, permission will be granted to all those who wish to disembark to do so at this point. Although we have no confirmation that it still holds true, the prior knowledge we have of the Salaxa indicates that such a gesture will be taken as a sign of mutual trust and respect during this initial meeting._

I've never been off of the ship before. They showed us examples for practice on the holodecks a few times for class, but it's not the same. The air smells different here, even through my mask, and my feet are squishing into the ground. The floor of the ship never feels like that.

I'm smushed in the middle of a group surrounded by Caretakers. They let us off of the ship, but it's kind of disappointing. I can't see anything over the grownups' heads. Something has to be happening, otherwise we wouldn't be here. I jump up and down, but I'm still not tall enough. I can't wait until I'm a grownup too.

We're not supposed to wander off, but this is boring. It can't be _that_ dangerous. The Caretakers wouldn't be so relaxed if it were dangerous. Caretaker Ashwan is talking to a Caretaker I don't know on my left. They both have their backs to me. No one else is looking at me either. Some of the littler kids are arguing at the front of the group.

I sneak out of the circle while everyone is distracted. I'll probably get in trouble for it later, but it's better than dying of boredom. I won't go far, and I'll come back soon. I'm not stupid; I just want to see what the big deal is.

It's hard to sneak away on the ship; the floors make too many echoes. The squishy ground here doesn't make as many sounds. It's weird not hearing my own footsteps. I hold my breath as I sneak past the Caretakers. Hopefully they don't hear me either.

The ground rises up just outside of where we were standing. If I climb over it, I should have a better view of what's happening, and it will be harder for the Caretakers to see me. I just want a better view. Everyone says this is most exciting thing that's ever happened on the ship. I don't want to miss it because I'm too short to see.

I hurry up the hill. I'm almost there, but if anyone looks over now, they'll definitely see me. My breath is hot against my face behind my mask, and my legs are getting tired, but I make them go even faster. I'm just clearing the top of the hill when my foot goes out from under me.

I trip and bang my hands and knees on the ground. It's not as soft as it looks. My suit protects me from the worst of it, but I know I'm going to have scrapes from it when I take it off. I can feel them stinging already. I bite my lip as my eyes tear up.

It's not until I start to stand up again that I notice I'm not alone. There's someone standing a few meters away from me. They're about my height, but they look taller since I'm still on the ground. I recognize them from the pictures I've seen. They're definitely Salaxan, even if their scales are greener than the ones in the books. I think I startled them. Their tail is up, and it looks like they're about to run away.

I raise my hands. "Sorry," I say. "I didn't mean to startle you."

They cock their head, tasting the air with their tongue as their tail flicks against the ground.

I freeze. I don't want to scare them away. We're supposed to join the Salaxans, but who knows how long it will take for the grownups to finally let us go play with them. _I_ might be a grownup before then.

I scoot forward another few centimeters. They seem curious too. Their tongue keeps flicking in my direction. Their slit-pupiled eyes are staring at my hands. Can they see my eyes through my goggles? It's not until I take a closer look that I realize they are crying too. Their tears aren't clear like ours; they're thick and silvery white.

"Don't cry," I say softly. "I really didn't mean to scare you." I reach out to brush away their tears. That's what the Caretakers always do when we are sad.

They hiss and jump back.

I stumble back too. I wasn't expecting that many teeth.

They pick a blade of grass from the ground. When they touch it to the tear running down their face, it smokes and turns black.

I gasp. Our on-planet suits are supposed to protect us from a lot of things, but they're not nearly as thick as the ones we have to wear around the science labs or when we have to unclog the plumbing system. This suit probably would have dissolved if I had touched it! Their tears must be a defense mechanism of some sort. We learned about that in science class. Some species leak toxic liquid through their skin or make bad-smelling gas clouds when they feel threatened.

I lift my goggles and rub the tears out of my own eyes. I'm tired of everything being blurry, and I have an idea. A few seconds without my goggles can't be more dangerous than trying to move around when I can't see well, right? I pick a blade of grass too and rub it against the wet spot on my hand to show that my tears aren't dangerous. Then, I hold out my hand to my new friend.

Their eyes dart to me and over the hill before they come closer. Did they get bored in the big group too? Their tongue flicks around my hand. It reminds me of when Ell used to tease me with the feathers that fell off of his toys.

> **_Ship's log, supplemental, cosmic date GE 3610.154, standard hour 7:53:26, relative hour still unknown, recorder Captain Naran Xian_**
> 
> _Communication difficulties with the Salaxa continue. All attempts at communication in all known variants of Salaxian from the past five hundred years have been unsuccessful, as have attempts to manually program our universal translator to account for the most likely forms of linguistic drift._
> 
> _On the basis of the nature of our welcome, I believe the knowledge of our arrival on Uruk-shan has shifted from a matter of fact to one of legend. At the suggestion of Lieutenant Jar, head of Communications, I have ordered Ensign Tamar to present himself to the Salaxan delegation. Although he is young, even for his rank, he is an expert in an ancient form of proto-Salaxian. The odds of success are not high, but as we have exhausted all other avenues, we have little to lose._

I press my hand to my heart. "I'm Mali," I say.

The Salaxan tilts their head. I think they're confused, so I try again. This time I point to myself. "I'm Mali. Ma-li," I say slowly.

At first, I'm not sure they understand, but then their tongue flickers, and they let out a short chitter. They hook a claw toward themselves and gesture frantically.

"Se...sshi...?" I try to mimic the hissing sounds they make. It's not any sort of sound I'm used to, but I try my best. They chitter and wave their claws in my direction when I try, so I think I did okay.

I grin as I point to myself and to them. "Mali. Sesshi," I say. We only just landed on the planet, but it's already a great day. I can't wait for everyone else to meet my new friend too. I hope we get lots of chances to play together more.

> **_Ship's log, supplemental, cosmic date GE 3610.154, standard hour 9:05:13, relative hour 16:34:07, recorder Captain Naran Xian_**
> 
> _Communication with the Salaxans has been achieved. In response to Ensign Tamar, the Salaxans sent forward one of their High Priests. Communication is slow as neither party is fully fluent and proto-Salaxian lacks certain vocabulary necessary to describe the current situation by virtue of having been dead for over three millennia. We have so far explained the true nature of our arrival, which has been communicated to the Salaxan welcome party. Some dispersed at that point, but the majority chose to stay. Further discussion will begin after a short break. Now that we have established basic communications, I am hopeful the Salaxans will be able to assist us with the necessary modifications to our universal translator._

Sesshi turns their back to me and wiggles their tail. I have no idea what that means. "Bye?" I ask. I hope they aren't leaving already. We just met, and I'm sure nothing interesting is happening with the grown ups yet.

They look over their shoulder and say something before they wiggle their tail again. They're not leaving. It's almost like they're waiting for something. Oh! Maybe they want to play? I crouch down like I'm about to jump.

They shiver and wave their claws and turn away again.

The next time their tail flicks, I jump at it.

I end up holding nothing. They're so fast I barely saw them move, but now they're a couple of meters away. I laugh and clap my hands. This is a fun game, even if I don't have a tail of my own to play with. If Sesshi likes jumping, maybe I can teach them hopscotch later. That's a fun jumping game.

I'm about to jump at Sesshi again when they freeze and turn toward the hill. Their tail is up now, like when I first startled them.

I look up the hill too. Then I hear someone calling my name. Oops, it's Caretaker Kirstin. She must have noticed I left. I'm probably in trouble now.

A grown up Salaxan comes over the hill with her; they're a lot bigger than I expected. I hope Sesshi's not going to be in too much trouble either. We were just playing; it's not like anything interesting was happening over where they were.

I have to go to Caretaker Kirstin now, but I hope she lets me keep playing later.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays, Shadaras! This was originally meant as a treat for Space Swap back in April, but then 2020 happened, so it didn't get finished until now. I love communication/language and how it develops, so this was a lot of fun to write.


End file.
